Apple patent describes new type of face-recognition tech

Swipe to unlock could be a thing of the past for next-gen iOS devices. Like current Galaxy Nexus users, iOS users could soon be using facial
recognition technology to lock or unlock their iDevices.

As described in a recently discovered patent, Apple's method would sense when a user is
approaching the device -- for example, if it's seated in a dock,
and the user walks toward it. The device would then use its image
processor to execute facial recognition to unlock the device, all
with low battery penalties. If the device is used for business
applications, higher security levels could even be set.

Apple's method would use a "weighted difference" map instead of
a computationally "expensive" method called correlation mapping,
according to Patently Apple, which first reported on the patent.

Here's a few ways it could work:

The device's front-facing camera would capture an image of the
user. Rather than analysing the entire face, the face-detection
system would look at just "high information portion" areas like the
eyes, nose, and mouth. These areas would be matched with a
reference image.

The two images could also be normalised, a process that adjusts
the pixel values in a photo. The two normalised images could be
subtracted, and a score (called a weight) would be assigned to how
closely they match. The high information areas (like the eyes)
would be assigned a heavy weight, for example, and a lower weight
would be given to less relevant, identifiable parts of the
face.

And because you'd be holding your iDevice at a certain distance
from your face, the system could also assume the "approximate
location and orientation of face features" in order to avoid
computational overhead. This is shorthand for, "Your processor
won't have to work as hard, and you'll save battery life as a
result."

Apple would not be the first to implement facial recognition in
its mobile devices. Google already has it in place in its Ice Cream Sandwich Android OS, which has a
face-recognition unlock feature. Unfortunately, some pseudo-hackers
found that face unlock can be fooled by holding up a picture of the phone's owner.

Apple's also no stranger to facial recognition technology. It
reportedly purchased the company Polar
Rose, which developed an augmented reality app that could
identify a person based on a photo, in September 2010. What's more,
a patent application filed in 2010 describes ways to identify a device's rightful owner based on his or her
visage or heartbeat. This one had many critics crying foul.

This most recent Apple patent application describes technology
that would work even if an iPhone, iPad or MacBook
were switched off. When it senses someone approaching, it would
transition to a different state to acknowledge and then identify
the potential owner's presence. The facial recognition system could
also be used to recognise a group of people, useful if a device is
used by a team in the workplace.

What about the gaming Apple's technology, the same way Ice Cream
Sandwich face unlock can be gamed? Well, Apple's patent would use a
technique called orange-distance filtering to determine
"attentiveness." If the orange skin tone portions of the image
aren't detected a certain way, the system would know it's looking
at a photo and not a real person. Unfortunately, I'm not sure if
this means it would work against someone wearing a "Mission
Impossible"-style full face mask.